Blessings
(א) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה וּבָרָא בו נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים. גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבודֶךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם או יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמוד לְפָנֶיךָ אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי רופֵא כָל בָּשר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשות:
Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, sovereign of the universe, who formed humans with wisdom and created within him openings openings and cavities cavities. It is obvious in the presence of Your throne of glory that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in your presence for even a moment.
Blessed are You, Adonai, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who sanctified the observance and fulfillment of God's commandments, and commanded us to engage in the words of Torah.
וְהַעֲרֶב נָא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ אֶת־דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָתְךָ בְּפִֽינוּ וּבְפִי עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְנִהְיֶה אֲנַֽחְנוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵֽינוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵי עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלָּֽנוּ יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶֽךָ וְלוֹמְדֵי תוֹרָתֶֽךָ לִשְׁמָהּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה הַמְלַמֵּד תּוֹרָה לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Adonai our God, please make the words of Your Torah pleasant in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people Israel. And may we and our descendants, and the descendants of our descendants, and the descendants of Your people the House of Israel, all know Your Name and be students of Your Torah for its own sake. Blessed are You, Adonai Who teaches Torah to Your people, Israel.
The Power of a Bath
מסכתות קטנות מסכת אבות דרבי נתן נוסחא ב פרק ל
וכל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים כהלל.
כשהיה הלל יוצא למקום היו אומרים לו להיכן אתה הולך?
לעשות מצוה אני הולך.
מה מצוה הלל?
לבית הכסא אני הולך.
וכי מצוה היא זו?
אמר להן הן. בשביל שלא יתקלקל הגוף.
איכן אתה הולך הלל?
לעשות מצוה אני הולך
מה מצוה הלל?
לבית המרחץ אני הולך.
וכי מצוה היא זו?
אמר להן הן. בשביל לנקות את הגוף. תדע לך שהוא כן מה אם אוקיינות העומדות בפלטיות של מלכים הממונה עליהם להיות שפן וממרקן המלכות מעלה לו סלירא בכל שנה ושנה ולא עוד אלא שהוא מתגדל עם גדולי המלכות. אנו שנבראנו בצלם ודמות שנאמר כי בצלם אלהים עשה את האדם (בראשית ט' ו') על אחת כמה וכמה.
שמאי לא היה אומר כך אלא יעשה חובותינו עם הגוף הזה:
Avot d’Rabbi Natan, Version b, Chapter 30
“And all your deeds should be for the sake of heaven, as did Hillel” (Avot 2:12).
When Hillel was leaving to go somewhere they asked him, “Where are you going?”
“I am going to do a mitsvah”
“What mitsvah Hillel?”
“I am going to the toilet!”
“And is that a mitsvah?”
He said to them, “Certainly, so that one’s body should not be damaged”
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to do a mitsvah”
“What mitsvah Hillel?”
“I am going to the bath-house!”
“And is that a mitsvah?”
He said to them, “Certainly, in order to clean one’s body. And you should know that this is so, for in the palaces a person is paid a yearly salary to scrub and wash the icons there, and furthermore that person is esteemed amongst the dignitaries of the nation, regarding us humans then who are created in the image and likeness (of God) as is said, “For in the image of God, God made humanity” (Genesis 9:6) all the more so."
Shammai did not say thus, but rather, “Let a person perform their duties with this body.”
Excerpt from https://jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/rabbi-hillel-on-stress-relief
Sarah Biskowitz, a writer for the Jewish Women's Archive, writes this extension on Hillel's words:
In this story, Hillel describes the importance of caring for the physical body. His logic extends to mental and emotional health... Hillel’s story also illustrates the necessity and religious significance of balancing hard work with leisure.
Audre Lorde, an African-American feminist and activist, argues that maintaining personal wellbeing and fighting for others go hand in hand. She once wrote: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
[Rabban Gamaliel] bathed on the first night after the death of his wife. His disciples said to him: Master, have you not taught us, that a mourner is forbidden to bathe. Rabban Gamliel replied to them: I am not like other men, I am very delicate.
Mind-Body...Maimonides
(א) הוֹאִיל וֶהֱיוֹת הַגּוּף בָּרִיא וְשָׁלֵם מִדַּרְכֵי הַשֵּׁם הוּא. שֶׁהֲרֵי אִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיָּבִין אוֹ יֵדַע דָּבָר מִידִיעַת הַבּוֹרֵא וְהוּא חוֹלֶה. לְפִיכָךְ צָרִיךְ לְהַרְחִיק אָדָם עַצְמוֹ מִדְּבָרִים הַמְאַבְּדִין אֶת הַגּוּף. וּלְהַנְהִיג עַצְמוֹ בִּדְבָרִים הַמַּבְרִין וְהַמַּחֲלִימִים. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: לְעוֹלָם לֹא יֹאכַל אָדָם אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהוּא רָעֵב. וְלֹא יִשְׁתֶּה אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהוּא צָמֵא. וְאַל יַשְׁהֵא נְקָבָיו אֲפִלּוּ רֶגַע אֶחָד. אֶלָּא כָּל זְמַן שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְהַשְׁתִּין אוֹ לְהָסֵךְ אֶת רַגְלָיו יַעֲמֹד מִיָּד:
(1) Seeing that the maintenance of the body in a healthy and sound condition is a God-chosen way . . . it is impossible that one should understand or know any of the divine knowledge concerning the Creator when one is sick, it is necessary for a person to distance themself from things that destroy the body, and accustom themself in things that are healthful and life-imparting. These are: never shall a person partake food save when hungry, nor drink save when thirsty; they shall not defer elimination even one minute, but the moment they feel the need to evacuate urine or feces they must rise immediately.
Da'agah: Worry and Anxiety
Three things bring one into the grasp of worry/anxiety: great pain, long fingernails, and ripped clothing.
1) Are these signs of worry/anxiety? Or are they causes? Explain them using both framings.
2) Of course there are things that the author could have mentioned. What might the choice of these three represent?
3) If you feel comfortable, make your own list of 3. In your own life, what are three of your own symptoms/causes of da'agah? Like the author, feel free to share ideas that are minor or major.
(משלי יב, כה) דאגה בלב איש ישחנה רבי אמי ורבי אסי חד אמר ישחנה מדעתו וחד אמר ישיחנה לאחרים
§ The Gemara explains another verse in Proverbs: “If there is worry/anxiety in a person's heart, one should quash it [yashḥena], and with a good word make oneself joyful (Proverbs 12:25).
Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi dispute the verse’s meaning. Rabbi Ami said: One should forcefully push it [yasḥena] out of his mind. One who worries should banish those concerns from their thoughts. And Rabbi Asi said: It means one should tell [yesiḥena] others of their concerns, which will lower the anxiety.
Three strategies are presented here based on rabbinic word-plays. How do they work for you? What other strategies can one try? (A bath perhaps...)